“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.”
(Psalm 26:2)
Our God is omniscient, which means He holds an infinitely perfect, divine, all-seeing understanding of Himself and all things, including the innermost thoughts and intents of each heart. “For the LORD is a God of knowledge” (1 Samuel 2:3).
It is therefore a remarkable sign of grace when a person willingly opens his heart to divine examination. The psalmist does exactly this when he prays, “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart” (Psalm 26:2). This is not the cry of one who fears the light, but one who, having searched his own soul, pleads for God to affirm that he is inwardly what he professes outwardly. But before such a prayer can be honestly offered, there must be self-examination—a deliberate, prayerful inspection of one’s walk with the Lord to determine whether it agrees with His Word.
The door on this old year is closing behind us, and the door to a new year stands ready to open. As the calendar turns, it is fitting to ask: How has your walk with Christ progressed this year? Have you grown in grace? Has your love for God deepened? Have the trials, blessings, and ordinary days of the year driven you closer to the Lord or left you more indifferent toward Him?
This season calls for earnest self-examination, not for the sake of self-pity or self-righteousness, but for holy clarity. Self-knowledge is a mercy when it leads to reformation. It shows us who we are, how we live, and what we must become to live in obedience to our Redeemer. The means is self-examination. And the end is self-government under the rule of Christ.
Paul commands, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves,” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Jonathan Edwards recorded in his resolutions: “Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.”[1] That aim requires deliberate reflection. No one grows by accident. We must apply ourselves to the pursuit of holiness.
Moreover, true wisdom lies in knowing God and knowing yourself. A man ignorant of himself is a man adrift. Without spiritual self-awareness, there will be no increase in grace and no progress in holiness. So take time—set aside moments before this year ends—to ask God to search your heart and lay your life bare before His Word.
If you’re wondering where to start, begin with your common conduct, for the nature of the fruit reveals the nature of the tree. Paul referred to his “manner of life” as godly (2 Timothy 3:10, 12). Can others say that about you? If your walk mirrors that of the world, then you cannot presume entrance into the kingdom of God (Luke 13:26–27).
Next, examine your associations. Do you keep company with the righteous or the wicked? Examine your speech. Is it proud and self-serving, or marked by grace and truth? Examine your thoughts… do they linger on sin or meditate on holiness? Consider your heart. Do you long for heaven as Abraham did, or cling to the world like Lot’s wife?
The beginning of a new year should be much more than a holiday for the believer for it is a perfect opportunity to reckon with your soul, to repent where necessary, and to walk into the next season of your life with renewed commitment. God already knows the state of your heart. What remains is for you to agree with Him, to be honest before Him, and to reform all that offends Him.
Contemplations:
- Search Me, O God. Lord, show me the true condition of my heart. Help me prove whether I am in the faith. For if I am in the faith, my life will reflect the truths of the Gospel. And as I believe that You speak in Your Word, so I will believe that You speak to me in particular. Help me apply Your divine commands to my soul as I am obliged as Your child to obey them and as Your servant to submit to the authority of my great Lawgiver, King Jesus.
- Joined With Repentance. Lord, help my faith be joined with godly sorrow and repentance (Acts 20:21) that I may have a pure faith toward my Lord. The hypocrite’s faith is without repentance; he is a stranger to godly sorrow while being full of self-confidence. But I want my faith to be characterized by mercy and reliance on You.
- The Beauty of Christ. Lord, help me see Jesus more clearly in Your Word that He may grow exceedingly precious to me (1 Peter 2:6-7). He is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Help me experience His power and wisdom in my life. Search me and try me and open the eyes of my heart that I might also see myself clearly as well as what I need to change and reform for Your glory.
- Refined by Faith. Lord, purify my faith (Acts 15:9). Faith will persuade me of the holiness of Your nature, and that You search the hearts and try the spirits of the children of men. It will help me see that only the “pure in heart shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). Help me by faith see that Christ died in order that He “might sanctify and cleanse His Church and present it unto Himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,” but that it might be “holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:26-27).
Prayer (Supplication):
O Lord, Most Holy and All-Knowing, I bow before You now as the year comes to its close, seeking from You the grace to rightly examine my soul in the light of Your Word. You who search the hearts and try the reins of men, search me. Try me. Show me what I am and where I stand before You. I cannot discern my own heart rightly without Your Spirit. So shine the lamp of truth into every corner of my being and reveal what is pleasing to You and what grieves Your Spirit.
I ask not for a general sense of conviction, but for clarity, specificity, and godly sorrow that leads to repentance. Let me not hide behind excuses, nor dull my conscience with busyness, nor deceive myself with outward religiosity. Let me not be among those who say, “I am rich,” while being poor, blind, and naked before Your eyes.
Lord, I ask You to help me see whether Christ truly dwells in me. If He is in me, let there be growth in love, holiness, humility, patience, faith, and hope. If I am truly Yours, then my affections must be with You in heaven and not mired in the world. Help me renounce any friendship with sin. Help me hate my indwelling corruption and earnestly long for deliverance.
Give me power to crucify the flesh. Let me not rest in habits or external forms, but stir me to pursue communion with You in the inner man. Let prayer be my joy, not my burden. Let Your Word be my daily bread, not my neglected task. Let my conscience be clean, and let grace characterize my life.
O Lord, establish my steps in Your paths. Give me a heart that trembles at Your Word, a spirit that desires purity, and a mind renewed in knowledge after Your image. I ask for faith that works by love, that obeys with delight, that walks humbly with You.
And as I enter a new year, let not the past define me unless it is a past repented of and washed clean in the blood of Christ. Let new mercies meet me every morning. And let me be ready to begin again because You are rich in mercy.
Grant that Christ would be formed in me more fully. Cause me to love Him with sincerity, serve Him without hypocrisy, and long for His appearing with joy. And if I am not in the faith, then strip away the illusion and bring me to true conversion before another year passes.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References for Psalm 26:2:
Psalm 139:23; Jeremiah 20:12; Job 13:23; Zechariah 13:9.
[1] https://www.apuritansmind.com/the-christian-walk/jonathan-edwards-resolutions/
